With the final Omnibus ruling of 2013 on HIPAA/HITECH and the increasing reports of hacking incidents – Check 4.5 million patient records stolen from Community Health Systems by Chinese Hackers – the cost of noncompliance with HIPAA can be substantial to providers and covered entities.
With the potential for audits from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), and their revenues and reputations on the line, healthcare providers can no longer be lax about security and HIPAA compliance. The following infographic by HOSTING has some revealing facts about the cost of noncompliance. Some important facts are:
- The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) stands ready to impose substantial financial penalties for non-compliance with HIPAA/HITECH and Omnibus regulations.
- Over 32 Million patient health records were affected by a breach since 2009.
- A fifth of U.S health provider organizations experienced a security breach in the past year.
- Estimated security breaches over all cost (data loss, outage cost, loss of revenue) more than $1.6 billion a year.
- Since 2009, (OCR) has fined healthcare organizations $25.1 million for violations.
